The 2026 F1 season is about to begin, with the Australian Grand Prix this weekend marking the first event of a 24-round calendar. Amid plenty of big talking points emerging over the winter break, F1.com has rounded up all of the key questions that we are keen to get the answers to ahead of the start of the campaign\u2026<\/p>\n
What will the pecking order be?<\/p>\n
This is arguably a question that crops up before the start of every season \u2013 but it is perhaps especially pertinent this year, given that 2026 marks the introduction of a wave of new technical regulations<\/a>.<\/p>\n At this stage, we only have the Barcelona Shakedown and two Bahrain pre-season tests to evaluate the potential pecking order \u2013 and while testing rarely offers a complete picture, the general consensus seems to be that the \u2018top four\u2019 consists of (in no particular order) McLaren<\/a>, Mercedes<\/a>, Red Bull<\/a> and Ferrari<\/a>.<\/p>\n Each one of these squads has been reluctant to suggest that they are at the front of this pack, having mostly namechecked one another as the favourite: McLaren have singled out Ferrari and Mercedes as the \u201cteams to beat\u201d<\/a>; Mercedes\u2019 George Russell<\/a> suggested that Red Bull\u2019s deployment \u201cstill definitely looks the best on the grid\u201d<\/a>; and Red Bull have predicted that they are only the fourth-fastest team<\/a>.<\/p>\n Amidst all of the talk, it will be fascinating to see how exactly the order unfolds when the campaign gets underway.<\/p>\n Who might be \u2018best of the rest\u2019?<\/p>\n Another intriguing question about the pecking order has centred around which team might emerge as the leader of the midfield \u2013 and it so far appears that three names in particular are being touted for this spot.<\/p>\n Alpine<\/a> threw their focus into preparing for 2026 at an early stage of last year\u2019s campaign, a move that they have been hoping will pay off and haul them forwards off the back of their last place finish in 2025.<\/p>\n So far there looks to be optimism at the Enstone-based outfit, with Managing Director Steve Nielsen \u201cconfident\u201d that the team have \u201ctaken a step from last year\u201d<\/a>. However, they are not the only squad potentially in the mix for being head of the midfield, with Haas<\/a> also catching the eye during pre-season testing thanks to a high lap count and seemingly smooth running.<\/p>\n Racing Bulls<\/a>, meanwhile, also look to be in the mix. The Red Bull sister team enjoyed plenty of mileage in Bahrain, as newcomer Arvid Lindblad set the highest daily lap count of any driver<\/a> on the final day of running. It could potentially be close between these teams, suggesting that a tight midfield scrap could be on the cards this season.<\/p>\n How will Aston Martin get on?<\/p>\n It is no secret that Aston Martin<\/a> faced one of the toughest pre-seasons of the 11 teams, having arrived late to the Barcelona Shakedown before enduring reliability struggles across the two Bahrain tests.<\/p>\n Things proved particularly tough during the second test, with the squad logging only 128 laps \u2013 quite a contrast to the 432 recorded by Mercedes at the top of the mileage charts \u2013 while they were restricted to only six untimed laps on the final day due to a battery-related issue as the team embark on their first season with new engine supplier Honda.<\/p>\n Those at Aston Martin have been honest about the struggles \u2013 Team Representative Pedro de la Rosa labelled pre-season testing as \u201cextremely tough\u201d<\/a>, and admitted that the outfit are \u201cnot setting targets\u201d for themselves across the early races as they look to fully understand where they need to improve.<\/p>\n The Spaniard is confident in the longer-term that the team will be improving \u201crace-by-race\u201d and that they will \u201cdefinitely get there\u201d \u2013 but the question remains over how long this may take, and how the squad will fare during the opening stages of the season.<\/p>\n How will the development race pan out?<\/p>\n In his take on Aston\u2019s campaign ahead, De la Rosa also touched on the importance of the development race, adding: \u201cEveryone will be developing their cars quickly, but we obviously have to catch up as well, so we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, the speed of development has proven to be another key topic during the pre-season, with the new technical regulations leading to much talk over the importance of being able to develop as the year progresses.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that the development will be so huge during the season that the most important is the capacity of the team to develop, the capacity of the team to bring parts quickly, much more than the performance at race one,\u201d Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur<\/a> said at the end of the second Bahrain test<\/a>.<\/p>\n With this in mind, the ability to develop could be a particularly crucial element of 2026 \u2013 and, as Vasseur suggested, this factor could potentially see the pecking order evolve through the campaign.<\/p>\n How will the new drivers and teams fare?<\/p>\n There are some new faces on the grid this year, both in terms of drivers and teams. Perhaps the most notable change is the arrival of Cadillac<\/a>, the new 11th squad on the grid who have recruited some experienced names \u2013 including their driver line-up of Valtteri Bottas<\/a> and Sergio Perez<\/a> \u2013 to lead their maiden charge.<\/p>\n The American outfit are not setting lofty ambitions for the opening races, but will enter their first season with a sense of positivity after completing decent mileage during testing.<\/p>\n While they are the only completely new team on the grid, Audi<\/a> are also embarking on their first season as a works outfit after taking over the former Sauber team, with Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley<\/a> stating at the second Bahrain test<\/a>: \u201cIt\u2019s an ambitious journey we\u2019re on, and we\u2019re a little way away from where we\u2019d ideally be at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n In terms of drivers, Arvid Lindblad<\/a> is the only rookie amongst the pack, having stepped up from Formula 2 for his F1 debut with Racing Bulls. The youngster has so far earned praise from his new bosses<\/a> \u2013 as has the driver he replaced<\/a>, Isack Hadjar<\/a>, who is now facing the challenge of racing alongside Max Verstappen<\/a> at Red Bull.<\/p>\n